Archive - June 28, 2010

Jim Blankenship is the founder and principal of Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd., a financial planning firm providing hourly, as-needed financial planning and advice. A financial services professional for over 25 years, Jim is a CFP professional and has earned the Enrolled Agent designation, a designation that qualifies him as enrolled to practice before the IRS. Jim is also a NAPFA-registered financial advisor, which designates him as a Fee-Only Financial Advisor.

If you own taxable investment accounts, real estate, collectibles, or literally any item that can appreciate or depreciate in value, you’ve likely had to deal with capital gains or losses on your tax return. (Actually, only if you’ve sold the item.) But how much do you really know about capital gains and losses? The IRS has published Tax Tip 2010-35 listing 10 Facts About Capital Gains and Losses – detailing what the IRS deems important about gains and losses and how they could effect your tax situation. Following below the IRS’ list is some additional detail on treatment of capital …

Jim Blankenship is the founder and principal of Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd., a financial planning firm providing hourly, as-needed financial planning and advice. A financial services professional for over 25 years, Jim is a CFP professional and has earned the Enrolled Agent designation, a designation that qualifies him as enrolled to practice before the IRS. Jim is also a NAPFA-registered financial advisor, which designates him as a Fee-Only Financial Advisor.

The Social Security Administration has a special way to treat former spouses differently from widows and widowers with regard to benefits when the person in question remarries. This only affects ex-Spouses while the other partner from the former marriage is still living. When the former spouse dies, the surviving spouse is treated as a widow or widower.

Remarriage Rules for Widows and Widowers

(For brevity I’m going to refer only to widows, but everything applies as well to widowers.)
If a widow is under age 60 and remarries (and stays married), she is no longer eligible for her Survivor Benefit…
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